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Meeting summary 080303
Greetings fellow toastmasters! I write on behalf of Zibu Mntambo who is currently floating down a canal in Venice on a Gondola while checking her email! As usual last week Monday was a meaty session packed with pearls of wisdom and inspiration from our very talented bunch. The theme for the evening was “The Perfect Job” and the toastmasters let us in on their thoughts regarding the job they are currently in and whether or not it is right for them. We found out a few secrets such as Carla Sargo’s dream to build a fashion house empire and Matthew Hindley who is actually an aspiring restaurateur. Erich Viedge then pointed out to us that all jobs are perfect as “wherever we are in our work, is in fact exactly where we are meant to be”. Marius Grobbelaar provided us with a warm toast to Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear for bringing such riveting entertainment to our homes and also for having, which some would regard as, the perfect job. Ceri James challenged us to use the word “Hedonist” during the evening, which means “A person whose life is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and self gratification.” Perhaps us toastmasters are really just altruistic souls since there were very few occasions where the word was actually used. Ceri did a fabulous job of counting Uhm’s and picking up incorrect use of language. A lovely CC1 was presented by Size Nyuliwe titled “Village Boy making a Success of his Life”. Size gave a very clear account of growing up in the village in Bophuthatswana in contrast to his present life in the big city. What a fantastic start. We look forward to more! Coralie Rutherford then gave us insight into one of our city’s lesser known treasures named Cosmo City in her speech “Cast Your Vote”. The benefits of community living range from spending much less time in our cars, to having a safe stroll with the kids through the internal nature reserve. This was a captivating speech and provided us with a positive outlook on some of the work our government is doing. Kirsten Long presented us with a very well delivered, fun and lighthearted piece “Marius”. It was a roast from the Advanced Manuals: Special Occasion Speeches manual. She described Marius as being somewhat of a ladies man, always full of compliments, when meanwhile the ladies are in fact well on top of things and are not to be messed with. Next up was a very inspirational and sincere ACB 4 given by Marius Grobbelaar “The life of Gary Van” about a local East Rand guy with exceptional qualities who lives life to the full, pushes boundaries and challenges others to stretch and become tough for tomorrow. A meaningful speech indeed. Jaco Strydom played the role as the timekeeper for the evening and did a fantastic job of keeping track of and presenting the times taken, very clearly and concisely. Erich Viedge, our chief evaluator for the evening, raised a very wise point with regards to evaluations. He explains that feedback after a speech is so crucial because it enables speakers to improve themselves. Without this valuable feedback, toastmasters may remain at the same level year after year. Congratulations to Kirsten Long who won the reward for best speaker of the evening and to Danie Roux and Erich Viedge who shared the glory as the best evaluators! Many thanks to the sponsor of our raffle prize! I am now the proud owner of a bottle of Vrede en Lust from our very own Simonsberg Winelands. The coming meals will be enjoyed with this medium-bodied, noble, red blend with a balance of chocolate, black fruit and spices. Until next time, have a marvelous weekend! Fondest regards, Karen Geyser Acting VPPR Temporarily ;-).